Regality In Chaos
by edge-of-bizarre
Summary: Royal au. The young nobles are in for several surprises, including, not limited to, balls, scandal, carriage racing, problematic nobles (mainly the twins, who would give them power to begin with) knights, courting, and plenty of royal insults and shenanigans.
1. Chapter 1

_"Just because you're the prince, doesn't mean I have to like you"_

 _"I don't like me because I'm the prince"_

Those words seemed like ages ago, they were in fact a very long time ago, but they were still in Hiccup's mind, remembering the day she had seen him watching from his window, the way he had almost fallen out of said window when she nodded towards him. Nothing had changed in a way, she was still the definition of grace, he still had to be saved by her, but now he was no longer embarrassed to be caught watching her practice. The way his ears would turn red would say otherwise, but now instead of a scowl, she would give him a wave and a smile before returning to work.

How many heads had he seen her cut off dummies? He had tried counting, but lost track after about a year in. How many times had she come to save him? Whether it be when he accidentally caught his room on fire with a creation of his, or when he had managed to fall down the stairs, still not used to the prosthetic and she had caught him before he managed to lose the other leg.

But right now, his knight was resting against him, both resting after the long ride to their favorite spot in the kingdom.

"You let me win that time" Astrid had pouted.

"You won, fair and square"

"You _know_ I hate it when you do that"

"I know"

She never held back, even if he was the prince, a quick punch to the arm, a little hip check, but always followed by a chaste kiss.

Hiccup knew his favorite thing about her was the way she never wanted special treatment, not allowing other to treat her differently now that she had relations with the prince.

"Why are we here?" Her question pulled him out of his thoughts. She had known something was weird as soon as he showed up and asked to go riding, wearing some of his nicest princely garb.

"Why so nosy all of a sudden?" He asked with a smile. She could tell something was wrong, but couldn't exactly place it.

"Hiccup"

"I just wanted to spend time with you-" The way he smiled, the way he rubbed the back of his neck, something else was going on. She gave him a quick pinch, trying to get her point across.

"I know something's up, don't deny it, you even brought Toothless." She said, pointing to the cat that was sleeping next to them.

"He likes to feel the wind in his mane, ok?" Hiccup said, picking up the black cat and holding him near his face.

"You put him in his weird little fancy collar" Oh, the nice collar. He knew he shouldn't have, but Toothless wanted to look his best for this.

"He wanted to look his best for what's about to happen" Hiccup explained, before setting Toothless down and his hand going to his pocket. Astrid was too thrown off to even see where his hand went.

"What's going to happen?" she asked urgently.

"Well, this was supposed to be a surprise, but you're too smart for me" Hiccup said with a shrug, moving to be on his knees. She was still on her knees, but really, she should have been sitting down to be ready. His good knee rose up and he was on one knee, holding her hands in his larger ones.

"Oh no…." She breathed.

"Oh yes, you got me-" Hiccup said, but a smile was ruining his sarcasm.

"No- no- nonononono-"

"Astrid Hofferson-"

"Nonononono-"

"Will you privilege me-"

She wasn't even making sounds at this point, only shaking her head.

"By, not only being my knight right now… but being my knight in shining armor for the rest of my life?"

"That was so bad" She was crying, he hadn't expected her to cry, but she was, letting go of his hands to fan herself.

"That's why I said it…" He smiled at her and took one of her hands as the other covered her mouth "Will you marry me?" he put the ring in her hand, and her eyes watered even more.

Before he knew it, he was on his back, Astrid on top of him.

"That was perfect" She sniffed, her arms wrapped around his neck. She kissed him and his arms wrapped around her waist before breaking the kiss.

"That's a yes, right?" He asked.

"Yes- Yes" She nodded and he opened her hand, taking the ring and slipping it onto her finger for her and she was on top of him again before he knew it, though Toothless made sure to congratulate both by crawling in between them.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Snotlout was the first to hear them arrive, standing guard right by the stables. He remained emotionless, standing with a seriousness that made it seem like he wasn't only five foot four. This had taken years of practice, and even then, he would talk to the other guards who would ignore him. Hiccup on the other hand, didn't care; he didn't care what the guards did as long as the castle was safe. Hiccup had decided the guards remained so silent and unmoving as a way to reflect the king, which he didn't know whether his father knew that or not. It was slightly intimidating at first, though it was interesting to watch them. One time Toothless peed on one of the guards boots and he did nothing, not even acting like it had happened, yet the same guard had helped a small boy find his mother at one of the many balls.

"What did you do?!" Snotlout yelled, cocking an eyebrow as the two got off their horses, both having red eyes.

Astrid smiled smugly and held out her hand.

"Damn" Snotlout muttered. Leave it to a prince to be able to afford something like that. Gold band with two rubies and a diamond sitting snugly between them. Very modest compared to other royal engagement rings, but still enough to make Snotlout a little jealous. If he were prince, those jewels would be ten times those sizes.

"Normally a princess marries her knight" He said, giving Hiccup a smirk.

"And all the princesses I know, aren't into short knights" Astrid shot back and Snotlout grunted.

"C'mon, let's go tell your dad!" Astrid said suddenly, pulling on Hiccups arm. She wanted to see how this would go over, though Stoick had given her his overenthusiastic blessing when they told him they would like to begin a courtship.

Snotlout rolled his eyes as the two strolled away, deciding a break would be exactly what he needed.

He had barely made it to the kitchen, making sure to smile at all the maids, who gave him an indignant look as they passed, when the king's voice practically shook the castle.

"WE MUST CELEBRATE- IMMEDIATELY!" Snotlout stopped. He was always one for a good party. Plenty of young ladies, plenty of drinks, it'd be nice as long as he wasn't on duty. With a smirk, he walked towards the king's study, where he knew the sound had come from, and listened, trying to decide if he had enough time to buy new dress clothes.

"Dad- we don't have to-" Hiccup said, though Snotlout knew it wouldn't do anything. This was what Stoick had been waiting for.

"No! I've already had all the letters written-" Stoick replied.

"What?"

"I knew it would happen sometimes! You always have to be prepared-"

"Dad- _really_ , there's no need for a big party right now-"

"You're right, I was thinking about maybe a ball? In a month or two?"

"Your majesty-" Astrid attempted to cut in.

"We can have a masquerade! And it's not just about you two you know- you have no idea how offended some of the other kings would get if they knew you were engaged and didn't invite them-" Stoick was out the door and Snotlout jumped into a march, heading in the opposite direction.

"Snotlout!" The short knight froze in his position. He slowly turned around; expecting a scowl but instead was met with the cheery face of Stoick.

"Get your father! Hiccup, go get Gobber- Astrid, my dear, help me plan" Before the two boys could react, Astrid was walking away with the king, him offering her his arm as they went.

"How come she gets to plan?" Snotlout asked.

"Would you like to?" Hiccup shot back, feeling relieved that he didn't have to think about the party.

"I want to make sure there'll be enough meade for me" Snotlout said, putting a hand on his chest.

"Don't worry, they'll have at least an entire pint for you- that should be enough" Snotlout glared at him.

"Compared to your thimble full-" Hiccup was surprised Snotlout could come up with something like that. Toothless swished his tail, curling around Hiccup's false leg.

"Your insults have increased ten fold, you small little man you." Hiccup said with his most regal tone, patting Snotlout on the back.

"You are still an ass" Snotlout replied with an awful regalness, practically knocking the wind out of Hiccup before marching away.

As he marched, he felt two claws stick into his boots.

Hiccup laughed as Snotlout jumped on one leg, trying to shake the cat lose.

"If you weren't the prince's kitty- Hookfang would have a nice chew toy" Snotlout growled, shaking the cat off him.

"Hookfang's _scared_ of Toothless" Hiccup caught up to them and Toothless sat, raising his chin. He looked more imperial than the real royalty at this point.

"He's working on it" Snotlout spat back. What good is a guard dog that's scared of a stupid cat? Especially a cat that only had three legs.

"Right-" Hiccup said, rolling his eyes. "I bet I can get Gobber before you get your dad" He knew exactly how to rile Snotlout up, but they both needed a good bit of competition.

Snotlout opened his mouth to say something before running off with a cackle. Just as Hiccup thought. Hiccup chuckled and shook his head as he heard a crash and walked to the kitchen where he knew Gobber would be.


	2. Chapter 2: How To Annex A Kingdom

He waited in front of the castle, trying to remain calm and hide his obvious annoyance.

"They're almost here, your majesty" A tall thin servent said with a nod.

"Alright, thank you" Fishlegs grumbled back. The entire thing was asinine. Who did she think she was? Just a princess, the king and queen were to be the ones that made decisions like this. Trying to annex part of his land? His mother and father had left him to deal with this, as a way to get practice of the inevitable, when he was king, which he was practically running the entire kingdom himself already. He supposed it was a little hypocritical of him, the princess would be discussing things with him, the prince, but he had asked to meet with her parents. Her carriage pulled up and the driver opened the door.

Fishlegs had been mentally prepping himself for this. He couldn't remember last time he had seen her, though he was glad from seeing one of her portraits. Tall, intimidating,

There was a shoed foot, then the dress, then shock. He felt his stomach drop as she stepped out. That portrait did her no good.

Plump, red lipped, rosy cheeks, short, curls pulled out of her face, smiling kindly to his guards and then to him. This is not what he wanted. This was not how it was meant to be, he didn't even move as she curtseyed. Great, now he was being rude. He gave a stiff awkward bow; hoping words would come to him like always.

"Prince Fishlegs" Oh no, she had a nice voice too.

"Princess Rosethorn" He managed.

"Your kingdom is lovely"

"I uh- yes- thanks-" Years a training, wasted. "You look… well"

"Thank you" She gave him a smile and he knew he was in trouble. How was he supposed to remain mad at her when she was cute, it'd be like trying to scold Meatlug, though Meatlug wasn't trying to take part of his kingdom.

"So uhm- let's get to it then" He managed to say. He began walking up the stairs towards the castle with her, her lifting her huge skirt so she wouldn't trip.

It was a new record, he tripped three times, each time the princess made sure if he was ok, which he would straighten out and be red in the face. Great, he was worse than Hiccup.

"I love your paintings," She said as they walked in the castle, him noting that she gave equal attention to all the art.

"Thank you- some of them-" he would intimidate her with knowledge, perfect. The only flaw to the perfect plan was when he heard a small snort and turned around just in time to see a flash of pink run under her skirt. The princess gasped and stopped moving, trying to figure out what was happening.

"I AM SO SORRY" What would he do? He couldn't just reach under and pull Meatlug out!

"What- what is it?!" she asked, jumping as something brushed against her leg. By now several servants had stopped, all watching as the prince tried to explain to the princess, who was looking a bit scared.

She walked, she lifted her skirt to let Meatlug out, she did everything she could until Fishlegs picked her up and Meatlug looked happy enough, sitting on the floor.

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry" He said over and over again, setting her down but picking the small pig up before she could run under her skirt again.

"What- what is that?" She asked before she could realize how ridiculous she sounded. But not everyday does an exceptionally small pig run under your dress.

"This is Meatlug- she's- my pet-" this day was going _splendidly_.

"Oh- I've never met anyone- with a pet pig-" Rosethorn said, eyeing the pig that was looking excitedly at her and squirming in Fishlegs's arms. "She's adorable"

"She doesn't usually… do that- I'm so sorry" He said awkwardly.

"It's fine- I have a dog that does that sometimes" She replied, giving the small pig a pet. He quickly set Meatlug down, giving her a stern look so she wouldn't do it again, though instead trailed behind the princess as they walked toward the study.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Fishlegs couldn't tell if the meeting was going well or not. She knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted to take part of his land to ensure his kingdoms safety, but the way she described it also helped his kingdom. He merely nodded along, not knowing what to say.

"You have a better navy, my army is better than yours- it would work in order to keep peace and order in both our kingdoms as well as keeping invaders out." Rosethorn said, waiting for him to argue. He thought it over. That land had nothing, no one lived there and it was a bit useless other than for protection.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

His father stopped him as they walked out of the study, the princess waiting for him as they discussed.

"She really knows-" Fishlegs began.

"That's the princess?" His mother asked, peering around him to the girl who was now admiring another painting.

"Yes- She really knew what she was talking about-"

"Oh- a good leader" His father added, looking at the princess as well.

"Do you think she's being courted by someone?" the queen asked.

"What- I was having a serious meeting- it didn't come up-" Fishlegs could tell his parents were more interested in the princess than about the meeting.

"Very pretty-" the queen said, giving him a nod.

"Don't do this right now" Fishlegs groaned.

"We've been telling you, you need to get married soon-" His father said.

"And she is a princess" His mother added. "I'm going to talk to her"

"No- she was just leaving" Fishlegs said, turning on his heels. Why did they have to do this to him? Perhaps they knew he was taken with her? But even then it seemed drastically inappropriate. He had already agreed to her proposal, but honestly, it was not a good time for that conversation.

They walked back down to her carriage, talking all the way. He even got her to laugh, and he knew then he had to ask.

"It was nice to meet you" She said with a smile. To her surprise, he offered his hand to help her into her carriage.

"I uh- before you leave- I was wondering if- I could write to you" he was red in the face and fidgeting with his hands. She gave him a weary look. It had been letters day in and day out, suitors sending presents and gifts that she had no use for since she had come of age, but he seemed nice.

"Yes- alright" She said with a smile. The door closed and she slumped in her seat with a sigh, the smile gone and a tired look on her face. He was nice, but she had no intentions of anything related to romance happening in the future. No, she had too much on her plate.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"Uh- another letter" Ruffnut squinted at the handwriting, not even bothering to open it before throwing into the fireplace.

She hadn't seen Snotlout in a long time, which was fine with her, he was horribly annoying and his letters, when she used to read them, were barely readable.

Tuffnut groaned from where he was sprawled out in a chair, still feeling the hangover from the night before.

"Shut up" He growled, covering his ears with a pillow. Their parents had left them stay in their own private manor, which was had since been wrecked by the two. Better than having their house wrecked, but nonetheless, their parent's turned a blind eye to it.

"Can you believe it?! All I get is a stupid letter from a guard." She would admit to being jealous. She was of age, she should be getting suitors out the door, there should be money and gifts and presents and whatever she wanted from them, but no. Every once in a while there would be a letter from some nobody.

"Cause you're ugly" Tuffnut snickered before holding his head. Ruffnut threw a pillow at him, but only huffed.

It was their reputation, no one wanted to marry a Lady who barely controlled any land and was known for her horrible manners. She didn't even want the guys, she just wanted the attention, but only from princes, if she were to marry, a king or prince would be the only person.

"Princey won't write me back" She said annoyed, tearing up another letter from some duke she had no interest in.

"He's a prince, he's not going to marry you-" A wack to the head made Tuffnut groan before Ruffnut slumped into a chair.

"But he's perfect" She didn't understand why Prince Eret wouldn't write her back, he wasn't engaged or married, nothing, yet he wouldn't answer a single lousy letter.

"Uhg- shut uuuuup" Tuffnut whined, managing to stand up only to drink more.

"Whatever" Ruffnut stood up and left, deciding something needed to be broken.

'Why did they have armor if no one wore it?' She asked herself this as she looked at the suit of armor that was placed in the corner.

"Tuff!" She yelled, smirk on her face.

"What?!" He shouted back before taking another drink.

"Have you ever tried jousting?" She smiled as Tuffnut came skidding out of the room.

"I'll get the horses!" He shouted, his hangover being brushed to the side as he pushed back the few maids that would dare stay in this madhouse.

 **(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)**

 **As you can see, hiccup: prince, Astrid: knight, Snotlout: knight, Fishlegs: prince and ruff and tuff: lady and lord respectively.**

 **basically, ruffnuts annoyed she's not getting any suitors (for obvi reasons, bad rep) rose is annoyed cause suitors are annoying (she has a very queen elizabeth vibe rn). You can imagine, astrid had suitors out the door, but the prince somehow got her to fall in love with him? A lot a power thirsty suitors in the future.**

 **if they're any questions or anything, i'll gladly answer them! please leave reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3: Party Planning

_"Not everyone gets to eat with a silver spoon and wear gems on their head- if you have power- you should be grateful!" She seethed, gritting her teeth at the young prince._

 _"I am! For everything that I have- but it's not what I'm meant to do! I can't possibly lead an entire kingdom!" He said from where he sat in the corner, after being thrown off his horse. He had been caught sneaking out, and yelping in surprise startled his horse enough._

 _"It's your place to do so- some would kill to have that chance-" Astrid glared at the skinny boy, whose robes were always too big like his father had them made for someone larger._

 _"I know! Please- I can't do it- all my life I've been told what I'm going to be and I can't possibly be that person! Who would ever want to be ruled by me? Someone who can't even pick up a sword without causing an accident… how could I lead wars? Conquer land? When I can barely look you in the eyes sometimes-" Hiccup pulled himself up, not bothering to adjust his clothing. He didn't want all this. He thought he did, but he'd never measure up. "I want to be able to go somewhere without having to worry about being poisoned- or stabbed- or maimed- the list goes on- Gobber's told me everything hat could happen to me-"_

 _"But you don't! You just disappear on your horse- whenever you want- even when you know what the consequences could be" How could he be so careless? The kingdom relied on him, he was the only heir, and yet he seemed to not even care!_

 _"I have to! Astrid-" Why did he insist on calling her by her first name? It was so improper and it sounded weird to her. "I've sat in my little room, getting lectured on how to fold a napkin properly- on how to drink tea without offending someone- how to lead a kingdom, there's so many people that will rely on me, I can't do it. Imagine not being able to leave your house unless you were being paraded around or had guards with you? No privacy, everything you do is documented- every word you say around people is heard- I have to leave sometimes- and so what if something were to happen? My dad would snatch up the next heir in no time, someone who looked like a prince- not me… someone who could lead, who could fight, who could impress my dad for once- I'm replaceable, even if you don't think so, I am, that's how it works. Sure it would be rough, but there's already a list of people who could possibly take my place- I'm sure Snotlout's on it!" He didn't think he would be that easily replaced, but his anger got the best of him._

 _Astrid was shocked. Never had she heard him yell before. Never had he seemed so much more than a clumsy boy. Hiccup looked so tired, he always had but she hadn't noticed it till now. She had always assumed that the royal life was lavish and easy, and that he would have it even easier because of his title._

 _"Don't say that" She said quietly. "Snotlout leading? What are you saying? He'd be worse than you… if possible"_

 _"Thanks" hiccup replied sarcastically. He kicked the ground before taking off his embroidered overcoat, throwing it somewhere into the stables. He hated looking at it. He was fit to where something like that, he couldn't wear it, he was sure if a crown were placed on his head it'd burn him._

 _"I'm not done with you-" Before he knew it, he was being pulled back by the back of his tunic. He stared into her blue piercing eyes, but the hardness was gone from earlier._

 _"Even if you don't look like a prince- even if I sometimes wished it was someone else-" Her fist was balled in the front of his shirt, holding him in place._

 _"I feel so much better-" Hiccup huffed._

 _"But you will be one, you are one, and you'll be a good one… I know it" With that she let go of his shirt._

 _"It's so much responsibility" He breathed._

 _"And you will bear it"_

 _"Have you rehearsed this?" He asked, a smile cracking through the gloom._

 _She rolled her eyes, but a small smile appeared. Had he really made her smile? His heart jumped at the prospect._

 _"Just do your job" Astrid bit back her smile, giving him a nudge on the arm before walking away, leaving her advice hanging in the air. Perhaps he wasn't as bad as she thought?_

* * *

Stoick threw open the doors, just barely missing Snotlout and Spitelout.

"It's been decided!" Stoick clapped happily, Astrid walking next to him.

"Bu' we jus' got here!" Gobber called as he clumped down the hall, covered in soot. Even as an advisor, he was allowed to have his hobbies. Hiccup walked next to him, trying to keep up with the man's fast pace.

"Get the invitations ready-" the king said, dragging Spitelout with him.

"For what?" Spitelout asked grouchily. Even if he was the king, he didn't like being taken out of patrol just for a party.

"We're going to have a masquerade to celebrate their engagement!" Stoick said with a final push.

"WHAT?" Gobber yelled.

"We're engaged-" Astrid barely managed to say before Gobber had Hiccup and her in a spine-crushing hug.

"Ah've been waitin' for this moment-" Gobber said happily, and Hiccup could tell the tears would come soon. Spitelout merely shrugged. It was bound to happen, though he was a little annoyed his own son wasn't married yet.

"Easy- don't break my son" Stoick said, though he didn't particularly care, there was too much planning to do. "Gobber, start getting decorations- let's make it in about a month's time? That should be enough…"

"It's going to take longer than that for the letters-" Spitelout grumbled.

"It wouldn't if you had gone to send them when I asked!" Stoick exclaimed, though his hand was stroking his beard, something he only did when he was deep in thought. "Ok… two months time… that should be enough- go- go on with you!"

Spitelout huffed but did as he was told. Why did he have to do this? He wasn't the messenger…

"Now- everyone one in the study, we have to decide on food and dress and decorations and-" Stoick was already walking away from them as he talked, forcing Gobber to set them down and they quickly caught up to him.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

The door was thrown open and a girl walked in, wearing trousers instead of a dress.

"How was it? Are you going to take over his kingdom? If you do, you have to name at least… three places after me" Rosethorn watched unperturbed as the girl jumped onto her bed, still firing questions.

"I'm not doing anything you just said, Freya… it went well-" the princess replied, returning to writing.

"He had a thing for her-" The princess's lady in waiting said, looking at Freya who sat up.

"Really? You going to add his stuff to the suitor pile-" Freya asked, jumping off the bed. In the corner of the room was a pile of what could only be described as things. Rosethorn knew what it would mean if she declined the presents, but she had no interest in any of them. The two other girls were now rummaging through the once neat pile.

"Don't say that… and Grim, try not to get ink on the floor" Rosethorn said, not even looking up from writing as her lady in waiting took one of her quills.

"Fine." Grimhilda took an inkbottle and the quill, walking over to one of the portraits. These suitors were so full of themselves, sending portraits to the princess. Grimhilda was simply 'adding' to the paintings. "Ooh, he's cute" she picked up a portrait, hugging it to herself. "Can I have it?"

"You are so weird" Freya said, picking through the pile.

"Whatever… it's creeping me out that close to my bed." Rosethorn continued writing as Grimhilda admired the painting.

"Oh, what's this?" The youngest girl asked, taking a sealed letter off the princess's desk.

"It's not for you-" Rosethorn said, taking it away from her. Freya pouted. She hated watching people do work almost as much as she hated doing it. "But if you must know… it's from the prince-"

"How'd he get it here so fast?" Grimhilda asked.

"Gave it to one of the carriage drivers- bet he thought it was pretty clever… it is a first but…" Rosethorn set the letter back on the desk.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Freya asked.

"Maybe… I don't know… it's going to be the same as all the other letters probably- and I have too much to think about than reading some letters from boys-"

"Just because you're going to be queen doesn't mean you can't have a little fun" Grimhilda said, picking up a dress from the pile. Who would ever wear such a horrid looking thing?

"They're all nice… in their own ways… but I don't have any intentions on getting married anytime soon- and why should I need a king? I'll be fine by myself- besides; I wouldn't want to be married to that old Earl that came by-" All the girls cringed at that. "I don't want to be that queen that gets married and then ends up being kicked out of power when their kings gets everything they wanted-"

"Will you at least open it? Please?" Grimhilda picked up the letter, holding it out to Rosethorn. "Look, he has nice handwriting and look how neatly he did the seal-"

"Grim, I think you should go hang up your painting" Rosethorn huffed.

"You're just afraid of commitment!" Grimhilda said as she walked out the door.

"Does your mom know you're here?" Rosethorn asked suddenly, turning to Freya.

"Well…" the young girl mumbled.

"You left without telling anyone again! Didn't you?" The older girl asked, though she didn't seem upset, more amused.

"I rode here by myself" Freya shrugged.

"And I see you opted for trousers?"

"You're just upset about what you can't have"

"As much as that is true- I wish I could wear whatever I wanted- but one day you'll be queen of your own kingdom" Rosethorn could see Freya visibly cringe. Freya was a shining example of what a princess shouldn't be like, the definition of rebellion. There were reasons of course, but mostly because she hated being proper.

"Uh- fine- I'll go home" She stomped out of the room, stomping the mud out of her boots.

Rosethorn sat back, looking at the pile of things. The letter on her desk seemed to want to be opened and she glared at it. When had he written it? She remembered him writing during the meeting. Had it been then? Really? Red wax imprinted with his kingdoms seal holding it closed. He was a prince, and at least around her age, it did beat the hundred something year old duke. She picked it up, looking at the neat but rushed handwriting.

Even if she opened it, it wouldn't matter, she might send a thank you letter or something like she had done for all the others, but that was all.

She set it down, she would open it later, and quickly got up, wanting to take a break from all the letters and writing and being gracious. She quickly went to the kitchen, tying her apron around her waist and decided to make something. No one questioned it, it had always happened and everyone would get a bit of whatever she made.

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 **So some shout outs, Grim belongs to the lovely non-heinous and freya belongs to the-cauldron-witch. i wanted to practice writing different relationships and trust me, you will see in the future what I mean.**

 **Anyway, sorry for like... the only tiny bits of hiccstrid so far, don't worry, there will be a whole lot more with them soon.**

 **review reviews:**

 **jadesunset: don't worry hon, there will be a lot more backstory soon, and more of them in general. thank you for the lovely review!**

 **HiccupHaddockIII: haha, soon don't worry**

 **non-heinous: you leave the best reviews, rose and fishlegs's dynamic is a lot more complicated than i'm used to writing, but eventually it'll all be well. and don't worry, the twins are going to the masquerade, you can just imagine what that's gonna be like**


	4. Chapter 4: Letters

"I think you'll need… new clothing." Astrid snickered as Hiccup came out of his room. His pants were now too short and his ankle could be seen. He looked like he was wearing child clothes.

"I grew… since that last wedding" Hiccup said, trying not to rip his jacket. Astrid walked over and poked his visible belly button, making him start.

"Don't do that" He said, batting her hands away.

Stoick came down the hall, list of party requirements in hand.

"Did you shrink your clothes?" He asked with a laugh.

"I've gotten taller, ok?" Hiccup said, trying to pull the clothes over his stomach.

"Go to the tailor-" Stoick said, not looking up from his list. Hiccup sighed. They had planned to go riding, but now…

"Ok" Hiccup grumbled going back into his room.

"Make sure it's masquerade worthy" Stoick called after him. "Astrid, do you have something to wear yet?"

"I uh- well…" It was a little tricky. Sure she had gone to formal events with Hiccup before, but nothing that required something extravagant like a masquerade. To be honest, she didn't know if she had the money for something like it, being a knight didn't exactly pay for something like this.

"Go with Hiccup, get something you like" Stoick gave her a sincere smile and she understood what he meant.

"Oh- no- I couldn't ask you to do that" She shook her head. She could never accept something like that. "Thank you but-"

"Think of it… as an early wedding gift- I want my daughter-in-law to look her very best! Though you always look lovely, my dear" It was true he had a soft spot for her. A shining example of a knight, a lady and an incredible influence on his son, he couldn't be any happier.

"Really, I couldn't ask-" She began again.

"As your king, I command you to buy a nice dress and have fun- and make sure Hiccup doesn't get anything… too ridiculous" Astrid suddenly had a huge smile on her face and almost hugged him right then if Hiccup hadn't come out of his room first.

"C'mon, lets go!" Soon they were running down the hall, Hiccup stumbling after her as she dragged him by the arm.

Stoick watched the two run off, and chuckled to himself, remembering when he had been planning his engagement party.

Stoick went down the list. Everything looked ok, though there was the one thing he always dreaded. Once a month he had to go to or send someone to go to the Thorston manner to set everything back together. Since they only governed part of his land, he had to check in to see if they were doing their job. The twins however were the ones that needed monthly visiting.

Stoick really did not want to go to that mad house… perhaps he could bequeath the job to his favorite son.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Ruffnut shoved Tuffnut out of the way, practically knocking the messenger off the poor boys feet.

"Hey!" Tuffnut shouted, watching his sister grab the letter.

"Please- pleaseplease-" Ruffnut said quickly, hoping Eret had finally come to his senses. She groaned when she saw the seal. It was from the king. She handed it to Tuffnut but he merely shoved it back to her.

"I don't read" It wasn't that he couldn't read, he was very bad at it, but he disliked it in general.

"Uhg- you're so stupid" Ruffnut hissed before tearing it open. A smile slowly worked its way onto her face as she read.

"Hic and Astrid got engaged-" She told Tuffnut, who groaned in disgust.

"Ew what? They're like… our age…" Tuffnut looked a bit uneasy at the thought.

"And there's going to be a party." Ruffnut added.

Tuffnut immediately perked up at that, a grin crossing his own face.

"What kind of party?" he asked, snatching the letter from her. "Oooh"

"Free drinks!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"Free food!" That was their kind of party. Everyone wore masks, so no one could tell who was stealing the food. Right now winner of stealing food at parties was Ruffnut. She got an entire roast under her dress and no one noticed.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

The letters were stacked on her desk, each one being neatly placed back in its envelope after being read. Each one was beautiful, she hated to admit it, but she had read each one several times.

His handwriting was lovely, and she hadn't read any poetry like he wrote in his various letters ever. Fishlegs must have put in a large amount of time.

Rosethorn looked at them pensively. She wanted to write him back, thank him, but how? These handful of letters had been much more thoughtful than anything she had gotten yet. It was rude not to respond; then again, she didn't want to give him the wrong idea by writing him back. True, she liked the letters, loved them in fact, her favorite was the only Meatlug had obviously gotten to, Fishlegs writing in the margin why there was an inky hoof print at the top of the parchment. But that didn't mean anything. The way he wrote was obvious he was trying for her affection, the obvious flattery, everything lead to it, but she didn't feel the same.

Rosethorn had decided she liked him, but not in the way he was hoping for, maybe more as an acquaintance, she barely knew him after all.

"Ugh… why is this so hard?" She asked, turning to the lump that was asleep next to her chair. The dog perked up at her voice and looked at her expectantly.

"I want to write him back… I don't want to hurt his feelings…" Her dog stood up on his short legs and wiggled, waiting for her to pet him. She did just that, still talking to him. "But then again, I don't want him to like me… besides, it's just because I'm the princess- I don't know if I expect you to answer me or not…" She sighed before picking the fat dog up. It wasn't because he was the princess's dog, Rosethorn had decided that's just how he was, he was plenty pudgy when she found him, so Pudge became his name.

"You need to eat less- you're getting too heavy" She rubbed Pudge's belly, eyes still on her papers. So much paperwork. Too much, but not as much as she had thought a queen would be doing.

"Ok… I'll just reply- it won't matter" She dipped her quill in ink and began writing back, deciding to stay with the formality he used in his letters.

There was a knock on the door, and it slowly opened.

"There's a letter for you- and it's not from the prince." The messenger didn't even call him by his whole name he wrote so much.

"Thank you very much" She said kindly, taking the letter and sitting Pudge up in her lap. The messenger gave the dog a quick pat and left with a wave.

"Oh sweetie-" Rosethorn breathed, setting the letter down as Pudge drooled on her arm, and subsequently onto her dress sleeve. "I'll have to get you a baby bib- how about that? You drool as much as one." Setting Pudge back down, she opened the letter. They were engaged! How nice, she had always thought they were good together. At the bottom was the king's signature next to a paw print. At first it had been an accident, Toothless walking across the kings letters when he first started in the castle, but now it was almost a symbol for the kingdom, always there next to the kings name.

The princess set the letter away from the others, making sure to keep it as a reminder before getting back to her letter writing.

As the letter came to an end, she felt the guilt building. He had been writing her everyday at the rate the letters were coming in and she hadn't even sent a thank you note!

"You get to sign this one" She said, putting out her hand. Pudge put his paw in her hand; he was after all the royal dog, meaning he could shake hands. Other tricks were… a different story. She quickly dabbed some ink on his paw before pressing it to the paper, and then whipping him clean with her handkerchief.

"Don't need you leaving a mess" She quickly sealed it and wrote his name in her best handwriting. Something else… there needed to be something else. She had apologized for the obvious lateness in the letter… maybe she could make him something? His castle wasn't too far away that something would spoil my the time it got there… if she told the messenger it was extremely important…

"Let's go to the kitchen!" The dog immediately perked up and wagged his entire body. They all loved him in the kitchen, maybe not in the kitchen, but they loved him in general, so getting extra bits of food was a likely hood.

"Maybe that's why you're so big… I'll have to tell them to stop giving you scraps" Pudge looked at her with a face that could only be described as horrified and Rosethorn rolled her eyes.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Misery. He had been in what he could only be called as misery for days. He could physically feel himself being overdramatic, but he couldn't help it.

"Do you think I did something wrong at the meeting? Did I offend her? Maybe I offended her in my letters-" The pig looked at him blankly. Fishlegs gave Meatlug a hard look, trying to decide if she had eaten his last letter purposefully. Maybe she was telling him not to send more?

"I am taking fake advise from a pig." He groaned before putting his forehead on his desk.

In the parlor, the kingdoms messenger ran in, looking ready to pass out, letters and package in hand.

"Why are you running?!" A servant asked, stopping the messenger.

"I- the thing- here-" The young boy panted.

"What's wrong? Is there bad news?"

"No- I just-"

"Then why are you running in the parlor?! You might knock over something-"

"It's- I have the-"

"What if you had run into their majesty's?"

"I wouldn't-"

"What's the package?"

"I've been- trying to tell-"

"Out with it boy!"

"Its-"

"Do you need to sit down?"

"IT'S FROM THE PRINCESS!" The young boy finally shouted. The older greying servants eyes widened. This entire thing had become a castle wide following, practically everyone knew about the young prince's vying for the princess.

"THE PRINCESS?!" The older man shouted. The messenger nodded, chest still heaving. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO-"

"YOU WOULDN'T LET ME-"

"GO ON- WAIT- is it good- is she reciprocating?"

"I don't know-"

"Well I need to tell the maids _something_ … WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? GO GIVE HIM THE LETTER!"

"I'M GOING!" With that the boy rolled his eyes, hopping up the stairs. The servant happily clasped his hands together. An answer was better than no answer after all and he immediately went to go tell the kitchen.

The messenger knocked, and slowly opened the door.

"THERE IS A LETTER FROM THE PRINCESS!" He really hadn't meant to shout, but after the match downstairs, it had slipped out. The prince on the other hand tripped over himself to get to the letter.

"Really?! It's from her?" Fishlegs asked, taking the letters from the boy. One was from the princess; the other was from King Stoick.

"She also sent this… it's already been checked, I don't know what it is though" The messenger gave him the package before quickly leaving. Fishlegs looked at the nice bow she must have tied which was now horribly placed back on. They had to check everything, which as good be supposed. He was a little upset that the neat wrapping paper she had made was now torn and resealed… but his joy outweighed it.

Fishlegs immediately tore open the letter, reading it twice before actually thinking about it. She had liked his letters!

"Meatlug! She liked everything!" He cried happily, pulling the little pig up into his lap. But the way she worded things, the formality… he quickly realized she had said nothing of her feelings toward him. Fishlegs had expected that, of course he did! She was a princess! A very beautiful one, in his opinion, who probably had suitors out the door…

"Do you think there are any kings writing to her?" He asked allowed, feeling his self-confidence crumble. There had to be many other suitors, maybe that's why she took so long to reply? She was replying to the others first…

He sadly looked up, seeing the package again. On the package there was a little note.

"She made this… herself…" He said, raising his eyebrows at Meatlug, who sniffed the package before wriggling and trying to eat it.

"Hey! No- bad- you don't eat my stuff- you know that" He set her on the ground with a huff.

Fishlegs turned the parcel around in his hand, trying to figure out what it had looked like before opened by the guard. With a sigh he tore off the paper, no point in trying to open it neatly.

"She cooks?" Fishlegs had heard horror stories of princess's cooking, the classic stereotype that they couldn't figure out how to make anything. He gave Meatlug a shrug, and looked at the cakes, setting them down on his desk. She made him something?

The smile was back on his face as he thought about it. She had made him something! That was so nice. Maybe he did have a chance?

He opened the next letter, still trying to decide if he should try a cake or keep them as a reminder. The later seemed extremely unappealing, food should not be wasted, he just hoped he wouldn't get food poisoning like the time Astrid had tried to cook. The entire kingdom was sick, it was horrible, and no one really talked about it, all deciding to keep quiet.

Before he could decide, he read the letter. Hiccup had proposed! Finally! He had been getting letters from him for days, trying to decide what to do. What was Fishlegs supposed to say? He had mostly definitely never proposed, but that could be in the distant future depending on the next information.

A masquerade. Rosethorn would definitely be there… That would be his chance, at the party he'd have to pull out all stops, everything he's got. He'd have to start planning now; it had to go absolutely perfectly.

He felt a rush of excitement as he began writing to her again, deciding against being so rigidly formal. He would have to send her something…

He quickly stood up, looking around. It had to be something important. Something that meant something, she actually made him something.

Before he knew it, he was finished his letter, tying it to his favorite book and was sending it with the messenger.

"Do you think she'll like it?" He wondered aloud, looking at Meatlug who was trying to get to the cakes.

 **(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)**

 **Woo, almost to the masquerade! And thank goodness, cause I can't wait to write the rufflout bits now. Far too long since I've talked about them.**

 **Stoick basically played fairy godmother, Ruff and Tuff are in it for the booze, Rose finally wrote back, and Fishlegs is almost completely infatuated (it's only infatuation right now)**

 **So, since Stoick is the high king, he has to check on the lords and lady's that own land, but normally only goes to talk some sense into the twins once a month and does it work? Nah.**

 **Prepare yourself for rufflout soon, plenty of hiccstrid, and dresses, a lot of dresses**

 **Review Reviews:**

 **Hiccupisnotuseless: I made Meatlug a pig (teacup pig to be exact) because like they're really cute and It's quite the conversation starter. As well as her wanting to eat almost everything, which is obvious in this chapter. Right now, I'm thinking mid 1700's, though it's probably no way historically accurate! Thank you for the reviews!**

 **WingsTailsEtc: I KNOW RIGHT. I'm having so much fun with this au. And don't worry, Fishthorn get's even better. Right now, Fishlegs is infatuated with her, it's like a crush for now, once he actually get's to know her. Whew. She on the other hand, has no plans on getting married (which I've probably made blaringly obvious) and there's something else that will only add the pressure, at least for Fishlegs. And don't worry. The rufflout in the next couple chapters… you'll see… you'll see…**

 **HiccupHaddockIII: Aw thanks hon!**

 **non-heinous: Oh, rose has already swept him off his feet, it's up to him to** ** _sweep_** **her of her feet, which is a feat. I'm glad you liked grim! She'll be in the next chapter sure enough, and yeah… poor hiccup, but then again, I wanted it to be sorta like the first movie!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Masquerade, Part 1

"I hate- everything" Freya muttered, feeling the infernal contraption tighten around her chest. The chambermaid rolled her eyes, giving the ties of the corset another good pull.

"It's almost done"

"Thank god" Freya breathed as the maid tied it and straightened back up. She had to be the tallest girl Freya had ever met. Thin, graceful, more princess material than she was, but was also her good friend. "Thanks"

"I'm surprised you even put it on" The maid said, backing up and looking at the princess. Recently, Freya had "accidentally" dyed her hair in clothing dye and cut it short enough that she only thing she could do with it was try to make a small bun.

"I have to, Amby- or else mom will kill me" She said, putting on the rest of her dress. It was definitely much plainer than any other dress that would be worn, but it was a dress nonetheless.

"You look beautiful" Ambrosia said, tucking her red hair behind her ear. Even with the choppy hair, the princess looked lovely. Freya's face heated up as the maid smiled at her.

"I uh- thanks" She stumbled before turning around and having help with the rest of her dress.

"At least try. Your mom's having a hard time right now" Ambrosia said, straightening the shorter girls blue skirt.

The queen had always had a hard time, though it was mostly just keeping control of the kingdom. Taletta, the queen, she had been young, and the duke had been so kind to her, she had loved him, and that's what he wanted. Love tends to blind, so his intentions were veiled behind words and gifts and romantic walks. He would be king. He would have been king, would have, if it hadn't been for the one slip up. When she told him she was pregnant, he had disappeared into the dark of the night and no one had heard from him since. The kingdom fell into turmoil at the idea of a pregnant queen with the father not in sight. But Taletta had grown from it, and soon the chaos had died down, but they never saw her as the young queen with promise anymore. No one would take her seriously. Their reputation was further tarnished with the princess, who wore trousers and spilt tea and cut off her hair because someone had said she looked like the duke. It was hard on the queen, but she wouldn't ever tell her daughter to change, though for this party, she needed to be on her best behavior.

"I know… I'm trying" Freya said, putting on a forced smile and standing up straight.

"There… don't forget your mask" Ambrosia quickly handed her the small mask and Freya was ushered out the door, her mother waiting for her downstairs.

"Oh, you look lovely" The queen said excitedly, making her daughter turn around so she could see.

"You look great too" Freya said, giving her mother a smile. Her mothers dress was a little more intricate, but not by much, purple instead of blue, long sleeves instead of sleeves that cut at Freya's elbow.

"Come on! We must get going!" Taletta said, fixing her hair one last time before going out the door and quickly getting into the carriage that was waiting.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

The carriage ride was mostly her parents talking, and Rosethorn nodding along. Grimhilda happily looked out the window, not paying attention, though Rosethorn was sure she had fallen asleep.

"We've set the date for your coronation!" Her father said happily, looking pleased enough. Normally the crown would be passed after death, but her parent's had decided she was ready.

"Oh, really?" Rosethorn asked, taking her gaze of her mask in her hands.

"Yes! All set, all we have to do it send out invitations!" Her mother smiled. They both looked so excited at the prospect.

"It's so nice that they're finally engaged…" She said suddenly. "Maybe you'll be next!"

"Mom" Rosethorn whined.

"You're upsetting her!" The king said, nudging his wife. In all honesty, he dreaded the idea of his daughter marrying; it was hard enough that his little princess was becoming queen, though it had been his idea.

"I'd like to see her married before I die!" Her mother exclaimed.

"You're not dying anytime soon." Rosethorn sighed.

"Let her take her time" Her father said, crossing his arms. "Besides, it'll take time before a man surfaces that could ever be perfect enough for my daughter-"

"You're being overdramatic" His wife rolled her eyes.

"What? Have you seen some of the suitors? Some could be my grandfather- another forgot my name and I am the king!" The queen looked at her husband.

"Windstrong, don't be so overdramatic" She sighed.

Rosethorn smiled at her father, who clapped his hands together. That's exactly what he wanted, just to see her smile again, none of this gloomy quietness.

"You are only allowed to marry someone who you think is good enough for you, which is near impossible- whatever person you decide to be with should count himself lucky, and if not, I'll talk to him" Rosethorn rolled her eyes but smiled at her father.

"Now dear, is my crown covering my bald spot?" Windstrong asked.

"You have one bald spot? I couldn't tell with what little hair you have" The queen replied and he snorted.

"It all fell out because your hair put mine to shame" Rosethorn stuck out her tongue at her parents, nudging Grimhilda so she wouldn't have to be alone for this.

"Good thing I have enough for the two of us" The queen smiled. She looked down at her husband happily as he continued trying to get more laughs out of their daughter, while Grimhilda had her face practically stuck to the window as she slept.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"Ok- I'm almost done!" Hiccup called. Astrid had been ready for a good hour already and was waiting outside his door.

"You said two hours ago!" She smirked, adjusting her dress. She loved her dress. She wasn't partial to dresses, mostly because knights tended to wear armor rather than silk, but this was an exception. A beautiful light blue, a gold colored mask, sleeves with lace on the cuffs. It wasn't too heavy, and the skirt wasn't too big, so if something were to happen, moving would be easy. In her books, it was perfect. She even did her hair up in an intricate braid, though her bangs forever escaped her attempts to pin them back.

The door swung open and Hiccup looked like a prince. He looked like a prince straight out of a fairytale, and he proudly walked over to Astrid, posing for her before admiring her. He had a rich green coat, polished golden buttons and belt and had his crown tilted to the side slightly.

"You look amazing" He said with a bow and a smile, raising her hand to his lips.

"You don't look too bad yourself." She smirked, fixing his crown and watching him roll his eyes before suddenly grab her waist.

"I can live with that" He quickly placed a kiss on her lips. He let her go and slipped his mask on. "What do you think?"

"I can barely tell who you are" Astrid replied sarcastically before slipping on her own mask.

"Ready?" She asked, holding out her hand.

"I think so" He took her hand and down the hallway the walked, knowing they were probably late.

"Did your sword fit under your dress?" he asked as they walked.

"No… I had to settle for a dagger" She shrugged. Hiccup glanced at her, not knowing if she was kidding or not.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"Wow Snotlout, you really prettied yourself up" Astrid snorted. Snotlout had gotten out of guarding that night, so he was now standing in his brand new clothes he had bought that day.

"I heard there would be ladies" He simply said, running a thumb over his eyebrows. He didn't exactly look like a prince, but Astrid had to admit, he cleaned up nightly. He had a simple white blouse, which she would have scolded him for wearing since he worked in that, but it looked formal with his black vest and belt. He had spent all morning polishing his black boots and silver belt buckle so they shined. He wasn't even wearing his black mask; it was simply pulled up on his forehead.

"Wow, you even shaved" Hiccup pointed out. He was missing Snotlout's caterpillar mustache already.

"Women like a clean shaved man, Hiccup, everyone knows that" Snotlout shot back, rubbing his chin and nodding towards the stubble on Hiccups jaw.

"It's true" Astrid nodded in agreement. She snorted as Hiccup rubbed his jaw, giving her a glare.

"I love you and your stubble" She smiled, making Snotlout groan.

"Ugh, get away from me, you two are disgusting" The short boy grunted, deciding he'd rather mingle with the ladies that were sitting alone.

"Don't be too disrespectful" Astrid called over to him. She had talked to him about that, most importantly because she didn't want him to say something un-tasteful to Ruffnut and having a fight break out. "Best behavior!"

He glared at her and rubbed his nose with his middle finger as he walked away.

Gobber continued calling names, announcing the arrival of all the royals, though all the younger people ignored it.

Astrid and Hiccup walked around, trying to search for the rest of their friends. Astrid made sure to keep an eye on Snotlout, who seemed to not be having any luck. With parties like this, you could always hear the new rumors going about. Hiccup froze as he heard 'coronation' and walked closer to the group of masked nobles who were talking.

"Oh, she's so young, already becoming queen" A women said.

"Who?" Hiccup asked. No one recognized him as the prince due to his mask, so the group enveloped him into the gossip.

"Princess Rosethorn, I heard her parents were dying-"

"I heard they wanted to go traveling-"

"No, they're dreadfully ill-"

"I heard poisoned-"

"They're alive! Just barely-"

Astrid had heard this rumor plenty before the party but she hated hearing gossip like this, it was appalling.

"They are in perfect health" Astrid cut in.

"Even if that's so, a queen with no king-"

Hiccup backed up, pulling Astrid with him, suddenly feeling his stomach drop.

"Are you alright?" Astrid asked, letting go of his now sweaty hand.

"She's younger than me" He could feel dread building up in him again, like it had all those years before when he could barely accept himself as prince.

"What?" Astrid gave him a concerned look. He took a deep breath.

"What if- what if my dad decides I'm ready to be king?" He asked her. She could see the uncertainty in his eyes.

"It's different- and if he decides to pass his crown early, that is such an honor!" Astrid held both his hands in hers, hoping to comfort him somehow. She knew this was hard for him to think about. They had talked about it only a few times before, but it was only hypothetically, but now, hypothetical was possible.

"I know… I just…" Hiccup sighed. He couldn't think of this now, not during his own engagement party.

"Don't worry… you're not gonna wake up and be king" He gave her a smile.

"I love you" This is why he wanted to marry her. She always knew what to say, and in all honesty, she would probably make a better king than himself.

"I know" She replied with a grin. He gave her a smile, but he could feel the thought tug at the back of his mind no matter how hard he tried to push it away.

"Come on, let's just enjoy ourselves." Astrid quickly led him away from the crowds, only to have Stoick take Hiccup from her.

"I hope you don't mind that I take him for a moment- the baroness that you managed to set on fire last year is here" Stoick said, bringing Hiccup with him. Hiccup mouthed 'help me' to Astrid as he was dragged away and she simply waved. It had truly been an accident; a small miscalculation of trajectory and a candle had been enough to send the poor baroness up in flames. Took a long time for her eyebrows to grow back, even longer for her to accept the their apologies.

Astrid slowly walked through the crowd, still searching. Ruffnut and Tuffnut would show up late, that was obvious, but Fishlegs would have probably been here by now.

"Looking for someone?" She asked as a large man bumped into her.

"Sorry! Oh- Astrid, congratulations!" Fishlegs gave her a large smile. "And you look nice, if I may add"

"Thank you, and you too" she gave him a playful curtsey. "Who are you looking for?"

"What?" Even as he asked he glanced around the room.

"It's obvious you're looking for someone" She replied, putting her hands hand her hips.

"Oh- I'm trying to find princess Rosethorn- is she here yet?" He asked.

"Ooooh, Fishlegs, wow- I'm impressed" Astrid laughed, giving him a nudge.

"What- I- I don't know what you mean" He stuttered, going red.

"Going after a queen, that's quite the task" She gave him a proud smile, though he looked at her blankly.

"What?"

"Oh, well I don't know if it's true, but there's a rumor she's going to become a queen soon" Astrid whispered.

"Oh- ooh… oh dear" He said to himself. "Good- good for her"

"Now, go- make me proud" Astrid said, shooing him away. Fishlegs shook his head but returned to his search and another man took his place.

"Hey" He said with a wave.

"Hello?" Astrid replied awkwardly. She had never met him before but he reeked of alcohol.

"So… what's your deal? You married or…" The man clumsily tried to lean against the wall. Astrid gave him a look, trying to decide what to say.

"You do know that this is my engagement party?" She asked.

"Oh… ha, that's awkward" Astrid watched him stumble away before he tried to talk to the next women.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"Where is he?!" Ruffnut groaned, pushing people out of her way. Gobber didn't even bother to announce them as they rushed in. Ruffnut had made them actually dress up for this, just in case Eret were to be there. Tuffnut had even put his long hair into a bow to hold it back.

"Let go of me!" Tuffnut yelled back, stumbling into the girl in front of him. The girl turned around and paused, pushing her dark bangs back and looked him over. Tuffnut brushed himself off and froze in place, looking straight back at the girl.

"I don't really like pink… so could you take that off" He said, leering at her as the girl adjusted her pink dress.

"I don't really like shirts… So could you take that off." The girl said without missing a beat. He was a bit taken aback, as it was obvious on his face. Lifting his mask slightly, she nodded towards the doors that led away from the party. They were gone just as Rosethorn went back to get Grimhilda after saying hello to the king.

'Where did she go?' Rosethorn wondered. She needed someone to be with her; as soon as Gobber had announced her arrival, boys had been following her in a little pack.

With a groan she walked and sat down at a table, repeating, "thank you very much" and "I am very flattered, but no thank you".

Ruffnut continued pushing her way through the crowds, looking for Eret. He hadn't written back, and Snotlout had stopped writing letters, so her fire had gotten a little low lately. He had been too busy begrudgingly setting up the party.

"Get out of my way!" She screeched, starting to get frustrated. How could she find him with everyone wearing masks?! Luckily, her eye caught a particularly well-muscled arm and soon she had wrapped her arms around it.

Eret grunted with disgust, shaking her off of him.

"No offense, but you are not the company I wish to spend my time with" He jerked his arm away from her and straightened his coat out, brushing off his arm. He suddenly had the need for a drink, and left her in the middle of the crowd.

"Fine! I don't need you!" She screamed after him. Thorstons twins were known for causing scenes at this point and the guests ignored her. Ruffnut fumed, tearing off her mask. He would come around; he'd see that she was perfect, that she deserved him.

A short man bumped into her and she whipped around, ready to give him a piece of her mind, digging her hand into his arm. She was taken aback, feeling the tough muscle under his shirt.

"What the hell?!" He yelled, shoving her away from him and rubbing his arm. He immediately froze, a smile forming across his face.

"Well, hello" Snotlout flashed her a smile and took of his mask, bowing and hoping to impress. Ruffnut stared at him, looking confused. She hadn't exactly seen him in a while, a while meaning an entire year, a whole year she had spent avoiding him. He obviously hadn't grown any taller, but there was something else. Clean shaven, clean hair, clean clothes, the few teeth that he had were white… enough, she hated to admit it, but he looked… _ok_.

She wanted to smack herself. No he was supposed to be disgusting and smelly and annoying, that's Snotlout, not the person standing in front of her, wriggling his eyebrows.

"It's been a while since I heard from you" he said, trying to act nonchalant.

"Yeah." She replied quietly, looking him up and down. Well… he was still short. If she were going to be completely honest, he looked better than half the guys in the room, even if he was short. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Eret talking to some other girls, and felt her temper boil.

"You are going to dance with me." She demanded, jabbing her fingers into his chest. Snotlout gave her a surprise look, and looked her all over.

"What?" He asked, confused. He never thought he'd hear that.

"If you step on _my_ feet, I'll cut _yours_ off" Ruffnut hissed, dragging him with her. He looked lost as she took her place. This was sure to make Eret jealous, it had to. Besides, last time she had to dance with Snotlout was when they were fifteen and he had stepped on her feet as much as she stepped on his, both had gone home with bruised toes.

"Dance" She commanded, and to her surprise, he took her hand, and put another large hand on her waist, looking at his feet. He really didn't want to be the next Gobber. Soon they were twirling and Ruffnut was looking confused.

"What the hell?" She asked accusingly, stepping on his feet for the fifth time.

"If you keep fucking stepping on my feet, I'll cut them off" He shot back, spinning her.

"Why can you dance?" Ruffnut raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm just great at everything." He said with a smirk. In reality, Hiccup had to take dance lessons before the masquerade, and he may or may not have sat in for one of them, or all of them, in an attempt to impress Ruffnut.

Ugh-whatever, just dance, idiot" She muttered as she finally relaxed, trying to look at least natural enough to make Eret jealous. But the longer she had her hand on his arm, the longer she wondered if the rest him was muscular. Wondered if his hand would move lower so she could slap him, but it didn't. Wondered if he'd try to pull some crap that would allow her to be mean, to be ruthless, to watch him get frustrated. But no, he did nothing she expected, and soon she found herself actually enjoying it, not having to wrack her brain for a new insult.

"I need a drink" Ruffnut said suddenly, suddenly stopping. Snotlout tripped on himself and stepped on her foot, and he expected an insult, but instead she gripped his arm and dragged him over to where the wine was.

 **(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)**

 **ah finally, rufflout, my fave babes. Part one, this is mostly just introduction to things, part two shall be soon, and more masquerade goodness!**

 **Basically, Astrid had a talk with snotlout and was like "try being an actual gentlemen for once" and he stared at her blankly until she explained, don't worry, good old disgusting snot will be…. Well less nice. Also, tuff and grim, more to come for them of course.**

 **Also, Astrid had loads of suitors in the hey day, but they kinda all ran off after finding out she was with the prince (some obvi didn't get the memo)**

 **Also a note: literally, suitors typically just wanna marry for power, mostly political rather than love. so any elligable bachelorettes with power up their sleeves is gonna be SWARMED, poor girls**

 **Review Reviews:**

 **Hiccupisnotuseless: I'm glad you liked it! hahah, no I didn't mean for there to be a correlation between fred and Tuffnut, twas a happy accident. And I'm glad you liked rose! Yeah, she's very sophisticated and thinking more big picture than small details, got a kingdom to run, mouths to feed, suitors to fight off, she's got a full plate man. Trust me, Fishlegs is def gonna be shown trying to win her affections (more like attention at this point, jeez) thank you for the review!**

 **Silver Blue Eyed Wolf: Thanks sweetheart! And thanks for the review!**

 **HiccupHaddockIII: More to come, definitely. Thank you hon**

 **in the name of the nightfury: (I'm just realizing you can put spaces in usernames? I am behind on something obvi if I have never noticed this nvm) aw, thank you! I've been thinking of branching off and doing another fanfic that's more in depth with hiccstrid's backstory, but I'd also like to incorporate it in this…thank you for the review!**

 **Please leave reviews guys, its so nice (and ask questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them in review reviews)**


	6. Chapter 6: The Masquerade, Part 2

_"Do you understand how much I have gone through? The amount of work I had and still have to do? Do you see any other female knights? No, you know why? Because being a knight is male dominated. I had to work to be where I am today, I had to be better than any male knight to even be considered, but I did it. You wouldn't understand, you've had everything handed to you, I've had to work for everything I have-"_

 _"And you are the best there is, I understand, you've had to fight for everything… I've had everything thrust on me… I have no choice in the matter, but I look to at, Astrid, all the time, because I know what you've done, and I want to be able to do the same. I don't want everything given to me. I don't want any of it; I would give all of it up, all of it, like that. I have no choice in what I do, and even then I_ _ **fail**_ _."_

* * *

Hiccup gave Astrid a smile; hand on her waist, her tough calloused hand enveloped in his long thin hand. They had come so far. He remembered when he could see nothing but resentment in her eyes when she looked at him, but now, those beautiful clear blue eyes shined towards him.

"Have I said you look beautiful?" He asked, leaning towards her ear. She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Only about ten times" Astrid laughed.

"Well, it's true" Hiccup said, rolling his eyes and she scrunched her nose at him, grinning even more.

"Are you having fun?" He asked, pulling her even closer to him so that she had to wrap her arm around his neck.

"Of course! Those little sausage roll things that I like are here, and I got a necklace for an engagement gift"

"You don't like jewelry"

"Oh, well it is no new sword, but it's the thought that counts" She said with a nod. "It's nice enough they got me something…"

"Well… I'm just glad the party is going smoothly." Hiccup looked around, trying to find the twins or Snotlout. They were the ones that usually ended up ruining something, whether it was by accident or on purpose.

"I haven't seen any of them" Astrid turned to look with him, not seeing the three anywhere either.

"That is either good… or horribly bad- maybe they accidentally killed someone…"

"Knowing them, they probably did"

"Well… Let's see how far they can get then" He really didn't want to stop dancing with Astrid, even if he wasn't near as good as she was.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Spitelout grumbled to himself as he stood guard, listening to Gobber call all the titles. This party was awful, now, if he were king, it would have been way better. More drinks, less formal dancing, less talking in general, these people kept trying to ask him stuff when he was clearly on guard.

He heard Gobber announce Queen Taletta.

'There should never be a queen without a king' he thought to himself, shaking his head in disgust. A king was the most important part! Besides, her kingdom could use a queen, though he doubted anyone would want to marry her after hearing about her daughter.

Spitelout continued his grumbling until he looked up, expecting a worn and beaten looking queen. Instead she stood their with a smile, her dark red hair only starting to grey, full figured, maternal looking, the only lines on her face were the creases near her mouth but she still looked vibrant.

He raised a thick eyebrow, lifting up his helmet slightly. Gobber glanced his way and rolled his eyes as he saw Spitelout, all his attention clearly on the woman. Unluckily for him, she felt his gaze and turned her head, to which he immediately got back into place, standing up straighter.

"Mom" Her daughter said, walking up behind her.

"Yes?" Taletta turned around to see Freya holding a black cat up; who looked rather surprised the girl had even picked him up.

"Can I keep him?"

"What- No! Why would you- just… put the cat down, come on" She pulled her daughter down the steps and Toothless leapt out of her arms, in search of Hiccup.

Freya immediately went to find her friend, feeling out of place among all the nobles, even if she out ranked most.

She found Rosethorn sitting at a table, young men hanging around like vultures.

"Oh thank you" Freya said, taking the gift out of a handsome man's hand as he went to give it to Rosethorn.

"That is not for you" He sneered. Rosethorn raised her eyebrows, giving the man an unimpressed look.

"She will be holding it for me, thank you for such a lovely… gift" Rosethorn cut in as Freya sat down next to her.

"Would you dance with me?" He asked, the ugly face he had been making leaving face as he smiled to the princess.

"No thank you, I don't like dancing" She had said that about a hundred times that night. The man nodded and walked away with an annoyed huff.

"Wow, did they seriously bring you stuff to the prince's engagement party?" Freya said, looking at the small pile of present.

"Yes, which is wildly inappropriate… honestly, I had one say it would be a privilege for me to dance with him… unbelievable" Rosethorn sighed, putting her cheek on her fist.

"I can have this right?" Freya asked, looking through the pile.

"Unless there's chocolate" Rosethorn said, rolling her eyes at the young princess as she sorted through everything.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Fishlegs watched with despair as another man was rejected. The last one's chin was more chiseled than any statue he had in his garden. Perhaps he should be happy that she refused all of them, but then again, he was a suitor as well.

He could do this, he had to do this, and he would do it. He fumbled for the paper in his pocket, he hadn't gotten her a real present like the others had, which he was mildly regretting now, but she had said she loved his poetry…

Fishlegs took a deep breathe and tried to stand up straighter, to puff out his chest, to try and look his best, though he knew it wouldn't work.

Rosethorn immediately saw him walking over, and raised an eyebrow with interest. He gave her a quick bow, which most of the others seemed to have forgotten.

"Hello your majesty- I uh- I would very much like- well I have uhm- I wrote you something… and I would like if you would have it… please" He stumbled, turning red before shakily handing her the piece of parchment.

"Thank you very much" She took, holding it delicately instead of placing it on the table with everything else.

"I uh- also… I have this… for you- well it's not for _you_ but-" He knew she had a dog, and him being a lover of all animals, he had deciding getting a present that wasn't exactly for her would be the best. He handed her a red ball, to which she gave him a confused look. "Meatlug has one… it's her favorite- so I thought that… your dog might like it"

"Oh- oh thank you" She said, raising her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised and gave him a smile that made his heart skip a beat. "I am sure he will love it"

"Good- I mean- good, thank you-" What was he doing? He scrambled to formulate some thought that would help him escape this mess he had made but Rosethorn cut in much to his relief.

"I really do love that book you sent me- it's one of my favorites" Fishlegs smiled largely.

"It's one of my favorites- well you know that- I told you that, that's why I sent it-" He rubbed the back of his neck, his face matching her dress. Freya was keeping watch of the conversation, raising an eyebrow at Rosethorn as she bit back a giggle.

"I'll have to send you one of mine then" Rosethorn said, turning the ball over in her hand.

"Oh- that would be… nice" Dear god, this was going horribly, absolutely horribly. Before he knew it, someone had cut in front of him. Normally he would have thanked the person for saving him, but he didn't want to be interrupted from this particular conversation.

"Who is this?" The short man asked, looking Fishlegs over with an air of curiosity yet disgust.

"This is prince-" Rosethorn began.

"Oh- you're the one that keeps writing all those letters! Well, I'll tell you- you write very quickly- but more importantly, go away" The short man said, pulling up a chair next to his daughter as Freya watched with amusement.

"I uhm- all right" Fishlegs gave Rosethorn a brief nod and before he knew it he was walking away. Why had he done that?! He shouldn't have just walked away; he should have done something- anything to not seem so… spineless. Who even was that?

"Dad, why would you do that?" Rosethorn huffed, glaring at her father.

"What? No thank you? He seemed boring enough- besides, who can write letters so quickly?" Windstrong said, taking a sip out of his cup.

"She likes him" Freya butt in.

"Him? He's not worth any of your time- you deserve the best" Her father said, glaring at several other young men who shrunk back into the crowd.

"Don't be rude" Rosethorn chided.

"Now he would be lucky to have you- but you deserve so much more- only the best and that's all I'll allow"

"How much wine have you had?" Rosethorn questioned, rolling her eyes.

"And that is when I leave" Her father stood up, putting his chair back and power walked away as his daughter shook her head.

"Wow" Freya breathed.

"Yeah"

"So… are you gonna open it?"

"What?"

"The letter- are you going to open it?"

Rosethorn looked closer at the letter, seeing her name in fancy script. He really did have nice handwriting.

"Can I read it?" Freya asked, reaching for the letter.

"Nope" Rosethorn said, carefully opening it up.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

Grimhilda strolled out of the room, straightening her skirt with a smile. Tuffnut on the other hand stumbled out, covered in marks that had been from the kisses. He wore a stupid smile on his face as he tried to tuck his shirt in, which had been a mess before.

She walked gracefully, having put herself back together way better than he did. He finally caught up to her right before the last corner to the ball.

"What are you doing?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Wha?" He replied dumbly, still trying to button his shirt. Before he knew it, she had him by the ruffles of his shirt.

"You stay in there- I'm going to get a drink- I'll be right back and you'll be ready" He couldn't have been more surprised. Typically, his pick up lines worked zero percent of the time, but now he was the one doing what she said.

"Do you want anything?" Grimhilda asked, her nose only centimeters from his.

"Uh…" He mumbled, not sure what to say.

"Good, now-" She pulled the string that he had tied his hair with from out of the front of her dress, and wrapped it around his neck. "I'll be right back" With that she tied it with a bow and he nodded. He practically sprinted back into the room they had been in, and she waited until she was around the corner to giggle.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"You are sooo lame" Ruffnut drawled, rolling her eyes at Snotlout.

"I've had as many as you!" He shot back, on his fifth mug and the room was already spinning.

"You can't hold it" She taunted, quickly having her sixth.

"I can better than you" Snotlout slurred, only to watch her quickly down another. He took it as a personal challenge, and Ruffnut laughed as he attempted to catch up with her. It burned his nose and his throat but he managed to keep it down and gave her a cocky smile.

"You don't even have to open your mouth, you can just poor your drink in that-" She sloppily reached across and practically put her hand in his mouth to point out his missing tooth.

"Shut up" He pushed her away from him.

"You know… I bet I can out drink you" Ruffnut garbled, sloshing her drink and spilling it on the floor.

"Imposs-ble" Snotlout could feel the last couple drinks catching up to him.

"Don' be stoooopid" She laughed.

"Muscle stops- makes- lesser drunk" He said as if he made perfect sense.

"Oh- well I'll- I'll win- if you lose, you have to…. Eat Hiccups crown" She smiled viciously. He was walking right into it. She hadn't thought about Eret since they started drinking, partially because drunken Snotlout would make everything more interesting.

"You- if I win- you have to give me- a kiss" He drunkly smiled at her, and she rolled her eyes.

She nodded anyway, and soon they were both tipping their drinks back. Ruffnut quickly tipped his drink back so it ran down his front. To her surprise, he did the same to her as revenge, so both were covered in drink.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"Where are they?" Stoick grumbled, looking out at the crowd. He had been watching his son and Astrid dance, but he looked away for only a second and now they were gone.

"Don't worry, they're jus' off havin' fun" Gobber replied. He had seen it all, the two trying to 'sneak' off, though over the years, Gobber had come to know Hiccup for being horrible at sneaking. The boy couldn't have made it more clear, always looking over his shoulder.

Stoick sighed, deciding that he would let it slip for the moment.

"Now, if ye'd excuse me, there's a table reserved for me" Gobber said, nodding towards a table laden with drinks. Stoick chuckled and shook his head.

"I should just get you a barrel" Stoick laughed.

"Ay, ye should! Ah'd be forever grateful"

"Get me something and make sure-" Stoick began, nodding towards Spitelout, who was leaning against the wall, drink in hand and talking to Queen Taletta.

"Tha' the Jorgenson men keep i' to themselves" Gobber nodded. Stoick watched as Gobber not to subtly told Spitelout to keep it in his pants, and made him go back to work, he would be done soon enough, then he could 'mingle'.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"Oh well… if I…" Astrid said, trying to adjust Hiccup's collar.

"It's not going to cover it" Hiccup grumbled, trying to rub the hickey away.

"Yeah well… maybe if you just-" She was starting to give up.

"Keep your mouth under control" He grumbled, his ears turning red as he took his crown off her head.

"That's not what you were saying a minute ago" she shot back, now trying to adjust her skirt.

"Woah, that was- albeit true-" Hiccup nodded, he had to give credit where it was due.

"Ok- you look great" She adjusted his hair, trying to hide all evidence of their previous activity.

"Thanks… but this doesn't fix this" He pointed to the obvious blotch on his neck.

"Just… just say it's a bruise-"

"I'll just tell dad you punched me in the neck by mistake" He said, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever you want- I'll see you later" she said, giving him a peck. It would look less obvious if they walked back to the ball separately.

Hiccup furiously rubbed at the spot, checking it in the reflection of a mirror.

"I fell down the stairs- I accidentally pinched myself really hard- my collar is chaffing my neck-" He said aloud, trying to decide what excuse to go with.

He walked out, pulling his collar up as much as he could, glancing towards the obnoxious laughter that was coming from Ruffnut and Snotlout. Ruffnut was hanging over Snotlout, both completely drunk, several cups scattered around their table. Hiccup rolled his eyes with a smile. At least they weren't killing one another.

~(+)~(+)~(+)~

"There you are!" Rosethorn said, standing up and walking to Grimhilda.

"Sorry, I can't talk" Grimhilda said, carrying two drink before leaning closer and whispering "I have a guy tied up in one of the guest rooms."

"Ok, this is why we can't go to nice things" Rosethorn said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Grimhilda shrugged with a smile before walking on.

"Where's she going?" Freya asked as Rosethorn sat down again.

"I don't know" Rosethorn shook her head.

"So… ok the princey guy keeps trying to come over and keeps chickening out-" Freya said, looking past Rosethorn. Fishlegs had been trying to ask her to dance, but each time he would take even a step in her direction, he decided he needed to rethink exactly what he would say to her. He froze when the princess turned around and looked at him. Too late, he had to go, he'd seem as bad as all the other guys if he just stood here.

"Hi- hello- I uh- I wanted to ask- if you would- if you want to… dance- dance with me? If you want" Nailed it.

Rosethorn looked at him as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Ok- alright- I would love to" He looked at her with surprise as she stood up, straightening her dress.

"... Ok then-" He nervously offered his arm and she took it with a smile, Freya watching the other suitors simultaneously groan.

 **(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)~(+)**

 **Sorry for not updating in so long, I've been studying for exams as of late (still not done, I have all of next week, blah)**

 **Spites a bit of a dick, in general, tuff and grim are nasty, fish finally is getting to dance with rose, freyas trying to steal the princes cat, and Astrid leaves very nice hickeys**

 **I don't have much to say other than can't wait to write more, and I did like.. one drawing of this on my tumblr.**

 **Review reviews:**

 **Silver Blue Eyed Wolf: I know in the books theyre cousins, but I don't think it's canon in the movie? Anyway, the way I see it, spite and Stoick don't look anything alike, so spite married either stoicks sister, but idk if Stoick has any siblings, or valkas sister, which we don't know if she has a sister, and rn his wife isn't in the picture. So I just think of Spitelout as that grumpy older child that thinks he's the best when in reality, is full of himself. Anyway, I'm probably wrong, but in this they aren't related. Thanks for the review!**

 **Hiccupisnotuseless: snotlouts a knight, but he needs the money so doubles as a guard cause he tends to blow it either a) on mead, b) tryin to send shit to ruff or c) partying with Tuffnut. Anyway, there shall be plenty more rufflout! Thanks for the review!**

 **The Viking Stranger: I am indeed behind the times… I almost did that, I was so close to starting from like the very very beginning, but I decided against it, mostly due to time. So, I try to slip little bits of the past in, also like, I really like the idea of all these royals but they're old enough to basically do what they want. They put literal children in power (the twins). And haha grim and tuff would be proud if they got caught, namely because shame is foreign to them. Also, the lady knight, this is in no way historically accurate, its sorta got a fairytale theme but no magic (if only) and basically, Astrid comes from not the wealthiest family, and theres the whole defying the odds, becoming the only female knight. In the beginning the other men would laugh, but Astrid holds a very tight command, shes scarier than Spitelout when giving orders sometime.**

 **Thank you for all the reviews everyone!**


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